Kukla's Korner Hockey

Preds GM David Poile told ESPN.com Tuesday that he expected to chat with Weber’s people “sometime in January.”

Poile added, however, that the more urgent matter remains Ryan Suter because he’s UFA-bound July 1, whereas Weber will be RFA.

The plan, if it wasn’t obvious, is to be able to go to their franchise player in Weber once/if Suter joins star goalie Pekka Rinne with a contract extension to show how serious the team is about competing. It makes sense to approach it that way because in the end, Weber’s deal will be the most difficult to negotiate. Better have the other two in the bag before commencing that one.

So the pressure point now is on the Suter talks with the Feb. 27 trade deadline approaching.

“David and I continue to talk but there’s nothing new to report at this point,” Neil Sheehy, Suter’s agent, told ESPN.com Wednesday.

Comments

I think he deals Suter if there’s no extension signed by the trade deadline.

Tick-tock, tick-tock ...

I wonder if LeBrun has any idea how funny that last line is.

As for signing Suter first and then Weber, the sky would have to rain money on Nashville for that to happen. They made signing both of those guys virtually impossible when they handed Rinne $7M per year.

That’s a total of $24,800,000 for 5 players plus the two buyouts. Weber will surely get at least the same as Rinne, so that brings it up to $34,8000 for 6 players.

Nashville spent $50,000,000 this year, and it’s highly unlikely they’ll be able to spend a dime more than that next year. So that leaves them about $15,000,000 with which to sign Suter and at least 15 other players – with $2,450,000 of that amount already committed to Spaling and Klein.

With the league clamping down on long-term deals like the one NJ tried to get away with for Kovalchuk, Nashville probably won’t be able to get Weber’s or Suter’s cap hits below $6,000,000 each. So if they signed both of them for that amount, they’d only have about 10M with which to sign 15 players. It just ain’t gonna happen.

So maybe LeBrun’s last line is a prophetic one, as in…“Hey, Tick Tock, David Poile here. Let’s talk Ryan Suter.”

I would love for Holland to go after Suter. Ever since I watched him play alongside Brian Rafalski in the last Olympics, I’ve admired his style of play - and he doesn’t try to be a goon. Weber’s concussion may make Nashville a little more desperate to get Suter signed, but I don’t see how on earth they have the money for both him and Weber.

Posted by
MsRedWinger
from the State where Tigers roam in the Spring on 12/29/11 at 12:35 PM ET

They’ll sign Weber before they sign Suter. He’s the face of that team.

So, yeah, while doubtful, I think the Wings could make a pitch for Suter since the Wings have continued to commit to Bowman’s philosophy of signing veteran defensemen with playoff experience.

Posted by
SYF
from Twerkin' with Anastasia Ashley on 12/29/11 at 06:42 PM ET